Chen Hao sat cross-legged amid a sea of chaos. Around him, gold, emerald green, and earthy yellow light intertwined, circling his body like three great dragons.
There were now eleven paths upon his Dao Foundation.
Metal, wood, earth. The Law foundations of these three new paths were firmly rooted deep within his Dao Foundation, forming a complete system with the original eight.
Chen Hao opened his eyes.
All eleven Great Daos thundered at once. The power of Laws surged through a full circuit within his body, then slowly subsided into stillness.
Done.
In six years, he had fully refined the three Great Daos of metal, wood, and earth.
Chen Hao stood and stretched his limbs. The old cracks in his Dao Foundation had long since healed, and it was now considerably more solid than before he entered seclusion.
With a wave of his hand, he opened a slit in the space within the Guixu Pearl.
Light poured in.
But it was dim.
Chen Hao stepped out of the Guixu Pearl and landed in the study.
His first impression was coldness. Not in temperature, but a certain lack of vitality.
The entire room looked drab, and the sunlight filtering through the floor-to-ceiling windows carried a gray cast.
The study door was open. Chen Hao walked out to find the living room empty.
A thin blanket lay folded on the sofa, and a clean cup sat on the coffee table. Someone had clearly been living here all along, but they were absent now.
His gaze fell on the smart panel on the wall.
Time: 1:17 p.m. Time until the Metal-Devouring Beast reaches Blue Star's orbit: 3 years, 11 months, 3 days.
Below the time, red numbers ticked away.
A countdown.
Chen Hao stared at the red text for two seconds.