Follow the path of Dao from infancy Chapter 1871 Chapter 500: Quasi-Emperor's Dominion (Part 2)

Once the state of mind merged fully, Li Hao instantly experienced a rush of warmth flooding his divine soul, unleashing the immense inheritance from the Tao Realm.

Right away, he sensed that his divine soul, dwelling inside his mortal frame, had somehow risen beyond it, laid open to the vast expanse around him.

Sun, moon, stars, the boundless universe, space-time flows, endless Taoist motes and bindings—he abruptly "beheld" them all, revealing a world of breathtaking splendor beyond imagination!

Through the vision of his divine soul, he could pierce straight to the core of the Tao, tracing its every path and motion!

"All Phenomena, myriad phenomena!"

"Grasp the intangible, unseen and untraceable, commanding every phenomenon, ruler over all creation!"

Li Hao whispered to himself; he realized his Control Dao had soared to new heights, utterly fearsome, surpassing the grasp of any other Immortal King Realm experts.

His command now exceeded the Immortal King Realm entirely, granting him this direct glimpse into the Tao's origins, wielding power over every path and entity, as though he lorded over the entire realm, supreme over all existence.

What defines a Sovereign? It means the Emperor!

Simply through his control, Li Hao had brushed against the edge of Emperor status!

With a single thought rising, everything stirs to life; with a single thought descending, all existence withers away!

"The rules binding the Heaven Tower..."

Li Hao looked skyward; in this desolate space, he spotted deep black chains of law plunging into the earth, vanishing toward some bottomless void.

Above those chains, they linked to the heavens' depths, extending toward upper tiers of the Heaven Tower.

He had caught a fleeting view of this Emperor Artifact's foundational laws!

Yet Li Hao refrained from rashly trying to dominate or claim them, an act that would challenge the Heaven Tower's ownership against the Star Empress.

Even absent the Star Empress, the Heaven Tower's inherent awareness, at Great Emperor strength, lay beyond his power to conquer.

"Control Dao, Ninth Stage..."

Li Hao detected his Control Dao level advancing, elevating one of the Nine Orders from its prior Stage Eight position.

As he absorbed the flood of Tao Realm understandings, a fresh Realm Heart soon formed in his domain, shattering the old framework.

"Six Realm Hearts..."

Li Hao drew in a sharp breath; he understood that achieving six Realm Hearts wasn't the true challenge. The real hurdle lay in fusing the seventh, which amplified the difficulty tenfold or more!

Countless Immortal Emperors bearing Reincarnated Bodies faltered right at that ultimate barrier.

"Six Realm Hearts merely rival the mightiest Reincarnated Bodies forged by those Immortal Emperors..."

Li Hao recalled the youth in black robes, a Great Emperor's reborn form, encountered on the Heavenly Ascension Road. Though absent from this True King trial, he figured that upon reaching Immortal King, the youth would unleash more of his former life's might, surging ahead with greater speed and power.

After all, merely stirring the Ancestor Emperor Power in one's bloodline bestowed immense battle prowess, let alone a full Great Emperor reincarnation.

"Within the Immortal King Realm, my supremacy remains unclaimed..."

Li Hao reflected inwardly.

Still, he recognized that mulling such concerns from his Fifth Level Immortal King cultivation was premature.

Without true invincibility, clashing with the Ancient Demon spelled certain loss.

"Balance!"

Li Hao commanded it, directing his domain to scatter the six Realm Hearts.

Now, bolstered by his heightened domain and fortified divine soul, plus the sharpened Control Dao, his command proved hundreds of times more potent than earlier. Even so, the draw of six Realm Hearts pulled fiercely. Thankfully, Li Hao managed it with far greater ease this time.

By segmenting them, the six Realm Hearts kept tugging at one another, but his amplified Control Force bought him ample moments to ponder and test the proper method.

"To steadily balance six Realm Hearts, the best approach is batch division!"

Li Hao had outlined this strategy before settling the Realm Hearts, prompting his initial effort.

He had managed to steady three Realm Hearts once; with six now, treating them as two groups of three made it feasible.

"Split into two triangles, not side by side, but crossing over..."

Li Hao guided the Realm Hearts with precision. This crossing formed a hexagon from the overlapping triangles!

A hexagon offered even greater stability than mere triangles!

As he compressed his domain and positioned the Realm Hearts, a six-pointed star soon took shape inside it.

The once turbulent Realm Hearts began to truly settle in that instant.

Li Hao's gaze lit up—success on the very first attempt, beyond belief!

Drawing from his five previous trials, Li Hao handled the Realm Hearts with growing skill.

With further refinements, the six Realm Hearts settled into place, linked by mutual pulls yet unable to merge.

"It's done!"

Li Hao couldn't suppress a joyful laugh.

He had braced for hundreds of trials, only to nail it immediately.

Thus, he stood just one Realm Heart short!

...

Beyond the Heaven Tower.

The Immortal Immortal Emperor and Star Empress had already sent word to the Great Emperor Dojo regarding the True King contest as Li Hao stepped inside the Heaven Tower.

At the same time, the Immortal Immortal Emperor revealed the looming doom of the Eastern Domain, seeing no point in secrecy and aiming to intensify pressure on the contenders.

His announcement caused the Ancestor Dragon Clan, Taichu Clan, and other key Immortal Kings of the Eastern Domain to pale in shock.

As they pushed their training relentlessly here, their home realm teetered on the brink of ruin and potential annihilation!

In a flash, numerous Immortal Kings from the Ancestor Dragon Clan, Taichu Clan, and Eastern Domain powerhouses voiced their urge to halt cultivation prematurely and rush back to bolster their lands.

"Reinforce? What could you possibly reinforce?"

Facing the angry outcries from below, the Immortal Immortal Emperor stayed unmoved, declaring, "Even bound as one, you'd fail against a Quasi-Emperor Realm foe, and as the Eastern Domain crumbles, no Great Emperor could halt it—much less a Quasi-Emperor. What worth do you hold?!"